IT takes determination, skill, planning and lots and lots of money. The same was true a thousand years ago. The technology may have moved on, but the basic challenges were the same.

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And how was it done centuries ago, without the aid of hi-tech machines and computing power?

Even today, any major construction project is something little short of a miracle – a breath-taking combination of ingenuity, craft, organisation and hard labour.

It takes determination, skill, planning and lots and lots of money. The same was true a thousand years ago. The technology may have moved on, but the basic challenges were the same.

Green Bay’s series ‘The Castle Builders’, which premieres this week on the Yesterday Channel (at 9pm on Tuesday), demonstrates how all over Europe those challenges were triumphantly overcome.

It’s the story of the blood, sweat and toil behind the magnificent architecture.

Using computer modelling and large-scale dramatic reconstructions, ‘The Castle Builders’ lets us see these great structures rise stone by stone into their full splendour.

The first castles were built in Scotland in the 11th and 12th centuries and, while some of these buildings have disappeared over time or have become crumbling ruins, many have been maintained in superb condition.

From the popular, yet remote, Eilean Donan Castle to the gigantic hilltop fortresses of Edinburgh Castle and Dunnottar Castle, there are few other buildings that quite invoke that sense of history.

Our gallery above shows you just how impressive Scottish castles still are.

And if these pictures have whetted your appetite to visit some historic Scottish sites, take a look at our gallery of castles you can holiday in below.